It will take Russia years to replace the bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons that were hit as a result of the Security Service of Ukraine's "Spiderweb" operation. Reuters writes about this with reference to experts, reports UNN.
Details
According to the publication, satellite photographs of airfields in Siberia and the far north of Russia show significant damage from the attacks, with several aircraft completely burned, although there are conflicting versions of the total number of aircraft destroyed or damaged.
For example, according to US estimates, 20 aircraft were hit and about 10 were destroyed, which differs from what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
At the same time, Russia denied the destruction of the aircraft, stating that they were only damaged and that they were planned to be restored, but military bloggers are talking about the loss or serious damage of about a dozen aircraft, accusing commanders of negligence.
Aviation expert Justin Bronk emphasizes that the destruction of aircraft will not have a serious impact on Russia's nuclear strike potential, which mostly consists of land- and submarine-based missiles, but, according to him, the Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers were part of the long-range aviation fleet, which Russia used throughout the war to shell Ukrainian cities, defense plants, military bases, energy infrastructure facilities and other targets with conventional missiles.
"At the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia had a fleet of 50-60 Tu-95MS and 60 Tu-22M3, as well as about 20 Tu-160M heavy bombers with Blackjack-type nuclear missiles," the expert said.
According to his estimates, Russia has lost more than 10% of the total number of Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 aircraft, taking into account the attacks last weekend and the loss of several aircraft at the beginning of the war - one aircraft was shot down and others were shot down on the ground.
"These losses will put significant pressure on key Russian forces that were already operating at maximum capacity," Bronk said.
Aerospace expert Douglas Barrie of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London notes that replacing these aircraft will not be easy.
"These are aircraft that were developed in Soviet times and have not been produced for decades, although existing aircraft have been modernized over the years. Building new aircraft like these is unlikely, and it is unclear whether Russia has usable spare airframes of both types. Western sanctions against Russia are aimed at restricting imports of components such as microprocessors, which are vital for avionics systems, although Moscow has so far been relatively successful in finding alternative sources," Bronk adds.
Against this background, Moscow, as indicated, is betting on the modernization of Tu-160 heavy bombers.
"Even if the Kremlin tries to speed up work on a promising long-range aviation complex, it simply does not have the capacity to do so," said Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists.
Let us remind you
Strategic aviation airfields are massively on fire in Russia as a result of a large-scale special operation of the Security Service of Ukraine called "Spiderweb". According to preliminary data, the losses of Russian aviation already exceed $2 billion.
The Washington Post, citing its sources in intelligence, reported that while the front line inside Ukraine, where the Russian army is trying to exert pressure, remains a "hellish landscape of drones," Ukrainian intelligence agencies are preparing coordinated actions against enemy military forces deep inside Russia. Following the "Spiderweb" operation, other complex strikes are possible.
The special operation "Spiderweb", as a result of which the SBU hit 41 aircraft of the strategic aviation of the Russian Federation, was prepared for more than a year and a half.